ECT

Well I am just curious really. Have any of my fellow BP sufferers ever had their Pdoc ask them to keep ECT as an option? How did you react?

i thought about it ......it was one of the original reason i cam here to do some research on the subject and make up my mind

from everything i gather the amount of history and background lost is not worth it due to the fact it will wear off at some point and need to be done again so u are in a never ending loop where u feel fine for a few years but will need another zap and might lose those few years of memories

that is how i see it .........if they keep talking about ask them how would like a few thousand/million volts passed tho their brain

Yes I have been constantly asked if I will do ECT in each of my depressions. I have always refused as I have done my homework. Do yours - not on the forums as the information here is usually so far from correct it makes my head spin. Honestly I see ECT as a last resort and from your posts you havent even tried to be stable on meds yet, they seem to change every week, are you talking to a t?

Im not considering it at all. I was curious as to other's experiences with that option. My pdoc mentioned it but I said no. I see a t who is an intern but am about to start seeing a psychologist who specializes in my issues. I start next week.

What do you mean I "haven't tried to be stable on meds?" I don't post all my business on the forums. Yes some things have changed but only because a need arose for it. I don't like taking a lot of meds...I just want to be healthy and happy and I consider meds only half of the solution. I do a lot more than I post. Im struggling with a mixed state right now, This is a rare moment of rational thought on the matter. Perhaps you meant something else but I am offended.

I have had both unilateral and bilateral ECT and they brought me out of deep depression quickly. I had been asked to try it many times before but refused. Last year I fell into the most awful depression and was willing to try anything to make it stop. I did lose memory of the month around the two weeks of treatment but not other memories or skills. It is definately a last resort but I would not be here without it.

I am one of those who was saved from an unrelenting, medication-unresponsive, deep depression too by ECT (bifrontal). I am having maintenance treatments once a month, and it is affecting my memory. I don't want to have maintenance treatments forever, but it's what my husband and I have agreed is the best course for now.

I went through ECT twice about 3 years apart for debilitating depression. It worked well for me, honestly saved my life, and I had very few problems with memory loss fortunately.

I would do ECT if I was severe.

I've had ECT twice. Just finished my second round of treatments, actually. Both times I was so far into depression that I was absolutely going to commit suicide if they didn't fix it. So my option was ECT or suicide. Both times it took a lot of bilateral treatments (15 and 21 respectively) to bring me out, but it saved my life. The first set lasted six years. I'm hoping for that again.

It did totally wreck my memory though. I lost memories from about six months back and am having trouble forming new memories. I mean to the point where I forgot how to get to work, where I'd been going every day for two years. And right now I feel like my cognitive functioning has been damaged - I just can't think and come up with creative ideas like I ised to be able to. I'm hoping thay will get better with time.

But it was worth it - otherwise I'd be dead.

I havent been able to find any information that ECT is succesful in the treatment of BP. I have never been offered it, but given everything that I have read, i would probably refuse on the chance that I feel it would do more harm than good to me.

It was successful for me :-) just didn't last forever like I wanted it to.

I glad to hear that you had success with it. How long did the results last for you? I'd love to hear from anyone that had success with it, just on the off chance that I ever required it. It's one thing to go off online research, but its quite another to hear success stories

Last time I was able to live for six years off meds and out of therapy with minimal episodes. So minimal that I thought I never had bipolar in the first place lol. I just finished the second round three weeks ago so I don't know yet ^_^ but I've been stable for about six weeks now.

That's awesome! I wish you the best of luck!

It's been suggested to me a couple of times. I honestly don't know much about it nor have I done much research. My reaction to the suggest: I was offended and freaked out thinking that I must be a really severe "mental case: if this is the best solution. Now that I've been reading others experiences with it, it doesn't feel as drastic. Luckily things have improved greatly without having to treat those treatments. It's good to know that others have had success with it.

I was wondering how common it was for BP people to have it suggested and how much other treatment they had tried before having ECT